


Hit Or Miss

by ashtin



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Baseball, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, M/M, Non-Linear Narrative, all hail the airport scene, baseball fic, bc someone wanted sports, because that's all i know how to write these days, i guess??, i love jisung, im so sorry, is this meet cute?, its cute as shit, its so inaccurate even tho i know how baseball works lol, oh hey this is pretty fluffy with some humor, other members mentioned - Freeform, seungbin RISE, uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh implied hanky panky at the end, we have fun in fiction land
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 16:07:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21915877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashtin/pseuds/ashtin
Summary: “Are you crazy?!” Changbin whispered, peering up at the pretty eyes that stared back at him from under the cap.“Yeah. Crazy about you.” Seungmin answered back evenly.
Relationships: Bang Chan/Lee Felix, Kim Seungmin/Seo Changbin, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 33
Kudos: 282
Collections: SKZ Secret Santa





	Hit Or Miss

**Author's Note:**

  * For [baobeis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/baobeis/gifts).

> To baobeis,  
I hope this is to your liking. I certainly had fun writing it~! Merry Christmas and happy holidays UWU
> 
> PROMPT: person a and person b are on rival sports teams (bonus if they’re really cute off field but once they play against each other it’s no holds barred)
> 
> **some extra info:**
> 
> _national seed/seeded player/team - the projected ranking of whichever team/player based on their prior performance._
> 
> _balk - when the pitcher hesitates before making a pitch_
> 
>   
very unedited, I will go back in and correct the missed words and typos soon! 
> 
> tbh there's a bit of baseball talk in here, but it's not that important lol. i just got carried away. if you're a baseball fan, pls don't hurt me i know it's not that deep and there's some inaccuracies.

_ ‘how’d u do in regionals?’ _

Changbin scoffed at the sudden text message, locked his phone, and tossed it back onto the bed behind him. Not his own bed, of course. No, it was the ever-comfortable, always soft, top quality, three and a half star hotel bed that was only a couple of feet behind the small “convenient office space” desk with a faulty lamp.

A glance to the digital clock with the pale orange numbers told him it was already going on midnight and he’d yet to finish typing up his final speech for his May-mini online Public Speaking course. A course that flowed into June much further than he liked since it was beginning to interfere with his very meticulous and  _ very  _ important sleeping schedule for tournament season. He sighed heavily and let his head fall onto the cool wooden surface of the desk with a heavy  _ thud. _

“Dude. That’s like the fiftieth sigh I’ve heard out of you since we got back from dinner! Is the explanatory speech really that difficult?” 

Changbin slowly lifted his head up to give his hotel roommate a bored look.

“It’s not an explanatory speech, it’s…” He sighed again when he noticed that the other boy’s attention was already elsewhere. “Never mind.”

Changbin stared at the blinking cursor on his screen for a long moment. All he had left was a few more filler sentences and his conclusion -filming it with a few of his teammates as an audience would wait until morning since it was a free day before their next flight.

He set a goal for himself, then: not to answer the text he’d received until he finished the speech. And if that didn’t kick his rear into gear, Changbin didn’t know what else could! 

“Hey, Bin?” Jisung spoke up after what Changbin figured up to be about fifteen minutes since the other boy had gone back to ignoring him.

“Hmm?” Changbin hummed, but kept his eyes on the screen, typing away now that he’d gotten a good idea of how to carry on from the part he was previously stuck on.

“Do you think we have a chance this year?” Jisung asked quietly.

Changbin paused his typing and stared at the outlet that was part of the base of his faulty desk lamp for a moment and shrugged.

“I don’t know, Ji.” He answered just loud enough to where it could be heard over the loud clicking of his laptop’s keyboard as he resumed typing. “It depends.”

“Depends on if they have that son of a pitch back on the mound this year.” Jisung grumbled to himself, the mere  _ mention  _ of the boy who’d just texted him already bringing a soft grin to Changbin’s lips.

“He’s only a son of a  _ bitch  _ on the mound.” Changbin felt the need to defend their rival for the sole fact that he’d taken the time to get to know the enemy. And Jisung happened to be one of the very few people who knew of Changbin’s little crush -the only other two being their own pitcher, Chris and shortstop, Felix. Jisung was their (self-proclaimed) prized first baseman, and official shit starter when it came to discreetly getting the opposing pitcher to balk from the shadows of the dugout. 

He never succeeded. But that was a good thing, Chris always argued. Because if he were to ever get caught, or worse, succeed  _ and  _ get caught, that would be a very  _ very  _ bad thing for both him and his teammates.

Still, Jisung was never one to miss out on an opportunity to call Changbin out for “fraternizing with the enemy!” while Felix -bless him- found the entire affair to be romantic! 

**TWO YEARS AGO** **   
** **CWS FINALS**

Half past midnight found Changbin in the dimly lit bar top of The Session Room. He didn’t drink, at least not yet, anyway, but he knew it would have been wasteful of him to take a seat at the normal tables when he was a party of one. Even if the evening rush at the bar was dwindling down to a low murmur of late night dinners and mid-week drinkers.

He ordered a serving of hand-battered cheese curds and a ginger ale and tuned out of reality as his brain tuned into one of the flat screens above the bar. He felt the presence of someone climbing into the high rise chair next to him, but paid them no mind even as commercials began to roll on the TV. But whoever it was, they didn’t seem to appreciate Changbin’s lack of notice in them, and had them vying for the catcher’s attention by striking up small talk.

“So… LSU, huh?” 

Changbin’s mind forcefully tuned back in and he turned his head just enough to gauge the source of the voice with a glance. But that glance turned into a  _ not-so-  _ subtle double take which had the new star pitcher from UCLA chuckling in Changbin’s direction.

“I wanted to sit closer to the door, but when I spotted your jacket… I couldn’t help but come over.” The young pitcher explained. 

Changbin didn’t flinch. He simply turned his head back to the television screen and didn’t even spare the boy another ounce of his attention.

That is, not any kind of attention that would imply he was paying his rival any mind at all. He heard the order he gave the bartender and the small sigh he let out when he glanced through the messaging app on his phone -no, Changbin most certainly did  _ not  _ glance to see that out of his peripherals… 

It was only after both of their orders arrived when the boy from the other time spoke up again. 

“What did you get?” He asked curiously.

And honestly, Changbin couldn’t come up with a good reason not to answer him. Sure, he knew being in the same room as his future opponent wasn’t any sort of crime, not that he knew of. But being friendly with the supposed enemy certainly wouldn’t gain him any brownie points with his coaches, managers, and teammates…  _ if  _ they were to find out.

_ Oh, what the hell,  _ Changbin thought, and told the other boy he’d gotten the fried cheese bites because greasy food was his go-to comfort food.

“Have you ever tried them dipped in caramel sauce?” The young pitcher asked with a hopeful expression that had Changbin leaning away in caution.

“Uh… Can’t say I’ve ever eaten fried cheese curds with  _ caramel  _ sauce, no.”

The bartender had been passing by and stopped short when he heard their conversation.

“Did you want caramel sauce?” He asked Changbin with raised eyebrows. 

“Uhhh,” Changbin responded smartly, looking to the boy next to him who turned to the bartender and nodded his head.

“Yes, please! He needs to try it!” 

Changbin shrugged, “I guess I’m trying it.” He told the bartender when he looked to Changbin to confirm he did indeed want the sweet sauce.

“It’s life changing.” The boy continued to sell the combination to Changbin even though he said he would try it already. All he could do was nod and pretend to be interested in the commercials until the bartender brought them the small sauce bowl of caramel along with the plate of chicken wings the other boy ordered.

“You eat one first.” Changbin said cautiously when the boy eyed his plate excitedly.

“Okay.” He answered simply.

Using a fork from his own silverware set, the boy picked up a medium sized piece of fried cheese and dipped it into the sauce bowl. “I’m glad you ordered this,” he said while he waited for the excess sauce to drip off the cheese, “it’s been ages since I’ve had it!”

Changbin took to staring at the boy that was entranced with the thin string of caramel still falling from the edge of the cheese. He was usually good with remembering names, so he hated the fact that he couldn’t put a name to the handsome face‒ 

No. When did he become handsome? Changbin didn’t think he was handsome.

Did he?

Changbin shook any and all thoughts of the pretty pitcher out of his head and gave the boy a belated answer. “Glad I could be of service.” He said drily just as the other popped the caramel covered cheese-bite into his cute mouth.

Changbin watched his lips split into a wide grin as he chewed and coughed to cover up the sound of his heart beating wildly around his chest at the adorable sight.

_ ‘Absolutely not, Changbin Seo!’  _ he could already hear Jisung scolding him for even  _ entertaining  _ the idea.

_ Fuck off,  _ Changbin thought back as if the thought alone would get the Jisung-shaped angel off his shoulder and out of his head.

“Alright…” Changbin cleared his throat. “This better be as good as you’re making it out to be… uh,”

“Seungmin,” he finished for Changbin and gestured at the plate of cheese. “It’s really good. I promise.”

“...Okay, Seungmin.” Changbin stared at him for a second before looking back down at his plate. “Here goes nothing.”

Changbin used his own fork to pick up one of the smallest pieces and was careful not to get too much of the sauce on it. He didn’t have very high hopes of liking it but he didn’t want to make a scene of having to spit it back out if it was absolutely awful, either. 

Seungmin’s eyes on him were already unnerving enough on their own, but especially now that he was waiting for and expecting a reaction of sorts from Changbin once he’d tried the weird concoction. He had to look back up at the television when he finally took put the whole piece into his mouth and began to chew it just in case his face betrayed him and he accidentally hurt Seungmin’s feelings.

Not that he should care if he hurt the feelings of who Jisung would describe as his mortal enemy… Or, Changbin thought, maybe he really  _ should  _ care… Just because he was friendly off the field didn’t mean he would be friendly once they went head to head. And by both of their teams’ performances this far into the tournament… it was likely they’d be going against each other soon.

“Is it good?” Seungmin asked him, voice surprisingly sheepish for how confident he’d been up until that point.

Changbin registered the sweet taste in his mouth for the first time and gave the other boy a wide-eyed look. He hummed an affirmative while he finished chewing and swallowed.

“I guess you were right… It’s really good. I’ll be ruined for the normal fried cheese forever, now.” Changbin said with a small half-smile. “Thanks a lot.”

“Glad  _ I  _ could be of service!” Seungmin said, laughing quietly. “Chicken?” he offered, sliding his plate closer to the middle of the space between them until it clinked against Changbin’s own plate.

“Sure,” Changbin answered, lips pulling up at the corner into an adorable half smile.

‒ 

The closer it came to being two in the morning, the more Changbin began to rethink his rebellious escaped that evening… 

“Nervous?” Seungmin asked, reading Changbin’s body language wrong. He wasn’t nervous, but he was a little anxious of the consequences that would face if he was discovered out and about this late at night when they had practice so early in the morning. 

Changbin shook his head gently and pulled his wallet out to pay for his late dinner, and Seungmin mirrored the action. Part of him wanted to pay for them both, part of him wasn’t sure how the pitcher would take such a gesture, so it was better to be safe than sorry… 

“You?” Changbin asked, throwing the question that’d just been asked of him back to his rival.

“I’d be a fool if I weren’t just a little bit, don’t you think?” Seungmin said as he slipped his debit card on top of his check and watched the bartender take both of their payments to process them.

“There’s a lot riding on this tournament,” he continued, turning his head to face Changbin and resting his chin in his palm with a sad smile. “My first time playing with the big boys and whatnot. There’s… a lot of pressure.”

“Well,” Changbin took a sip from what was left of his soda and turned his body so that it was facing Seungmin. “You’ve made it this far. Pretty damn good for your first time, don’t you think?”

“Aren’t you in the same boat?” Seungmin asked, eyeing him curiously.

“Sort of. It’s my first time, but I’m just a catcher. I don’t give much face during the game at all unless they throw me up to bat.”

Seungmin lightly shook his head, “if your role is anything like my own catcher’s, then you’re incredible. There’s no such thing as  _ just  _ any position.”

Changbin coughed into his fist and took a look sip from his drink as Seugnmin continued with a serious look on his face.

“No, really!” he said, leaning in closer to Changbin while Changbin wiped at his lips with a paper napkin. “Your pitcher might be the natural leader type, or the ‘team dad,’ or whatever, but he doesn’t call the shots, does he?”

Changbin slowly shook his head. Chris  _ was  _ the epitome of a ‘team dad,’ but he left a lot of the pitches up to Changbin ‒ not without lots of meticulous planning done during their practices beforehand, but still. Changbin had more of a say in the game than nearly any other position, that much was for sure.

Seungmin softened visibly. “You bust your ass off to make the rest of us look good and get little to no public appreciation.”

“Chris always lets me know how‒”

Seungmin cut him off with a short nod. “And I’d be a goner without Minho. Of course  _ we  _ are going to express our gratitude, but you deserve it from everyone else. At least more than us pitchers deserve it.”

Changbin huffed out a short laugh. He understood the point that the other boy was trying to make, but he knew they weren’t going to get anywhere if Seungmin started downplaying himself just to make Changbin feel better

“Look, Seungmin…” Changbin paused and willed himself to keep from marveling at the wide grin on Seungmin’s lips from‒ from what? From Changbin saying his name?

_ No,  _ Changbin internally shook his head at himself to dispel the silly thought before his mind could read into the action any further.

“You’re right.” he continued. “I am an important player, but I’m not going to let you put yourself down like that either. A team has nine players in a game, and each position is just as important as the other. Agree?”

Seungmin’s bright grin softened and he nodded. Changbin was satisfied enough to leave it at that.

“We should probably get back.” Changbin said, sliding out of his bar stool and patiently waiting for Seungmin to grab his wallet and follow suit. “It’s,” he checked the time on his phone with wide eyes, “almost two-thirty in the morning. Oh my word…”

“Oh, wow…” Seungmin turned back to thank the bartender while he straightened out his jacket, “I didn’t realize it was so late already.” 

Seungmin followed him silently to the exit, but stepped in front of Changbin to pull the door open for him to pass through before he could even begin to reach out his hand.

Changbin blushed and prayed to all the gods listening that it was too dark outside for Seungmin to see it.

Thankfully, if he  _ did  _ manage to see it, Seungmin said nothing about it. Instead they walked to the bus stop just up the block in a comfortable silence before Seungmin broke it.

“I have a question… But it’s kind of stupid and a little stalker-ish sounding,” he said, sounding shy for the second time that evening.

Changbin’s curiosity got the better of him and he turned his head to give the other a questioning look.

“What is it?”

Seungmin stared up at the dark night sky as they walked down the straight sidewalk path and sighed.

“It’s been bothering me all evening… But, how is it that I don’t recognize you?” Seungmin turned his head to look at Changbin with a lopsided grin on his lips, “Yeah, that sounded much weirder out loud than it did in my head. What I mean is, like, I could probably name off most of your teammates if I saw their faces… Like Chris, Felix, Eric, Mark… But I haven’t a clue what your name is.”

Oh.  _ Was that it?  _ Changbin thought to himself with a small smile. 

“Okay, I’m really not helping my stalker-sounding case here… I guess I could always do a process of elimination since I know everyone’s name on the team and figure out who you are once I get to the‒”

“Changbin.” 

They slowed to a stop once they finally came to the bus loading area and Changbin fought not to laugh at the various emotions that crossed over Seungmin’s features.

“Unless you go directly to view my stats online then you might never see me… Except for when I’m batting. That happens occasionally.”

“Ahh, right.” Seungmin nodded slowly and leaned up against the light pole. “Catcher… Changbin.” he mused to himself with a pretty smile.

“What hotel are you staying at?” Changbin asked when the silence between them began to drag on for too long.

“Hampton. You?”

“Fairfield.” Changbin answered with a knowing smile.

“I guess we’re taking the same bus, neighbor.” Seungmin said, returning the same smile back to Changbin that had Changbin’s heart flipping in his chest.

The restaurant was only a fifteen minute bus ride from their hotels, but Changbin predicted it might take a bit longer with all the stops they’d have on the way as the bus finished up its route for the night.

They’d only been seated for a few short minutes ‒ Seungmin having taken the window seat per Changbin’s suggestion after the other boy mentioned his preference for them ‒ and Seungmin was engrossed in his phone. Changbin figured he was probably updating his teammates on his whereabouts and smiled.

He thought it was a miracle that his own roommate wasn’t worried enough to call or text him yet. He could already imagine the other’s shrill cries of disbelief and disappointment if he found out about Changbin’s evening company.

He chuckled quietly to himself and unlocked his phone to shoot Jisung a text to let him know that he would be back soon enough.

“What’s so funny?” Seungmin asked quietly and looked at Changbin with a perfectly arched eyebrow.

Changbin smirked and shook his head, “I’m just imagining my friend’s reaction if he ever finds out about me hanging out with you tonight.” Changbin laughed lightly. “I imagine there will be lots of shouting on his part. And cursing. A fuck ton of cursing.”

Seungmin’s face scrunched up in confusion, “...why would he be shouting? Are you not allowed to have other friends?”

Changbin locked his phone and shook his head again.

“That’s not it… He’s just, I don’t know. He might get annoyed and a little jealous, but I’m sure he’d be over it soon enough.”

Seungmin averted his gaze and bit his lip in thought. He went quiet for a few minutes, and that was long enough for Changbin to assume that the conversation had been dropped. But he was proven wrong when Seungmin began to fidget with the hem of his t-shirt and cleared his throat.

“Are you two, like… a thing?” He asked nervously.

Changbin choked on air and coughed a few times to gather himself before he fixed the pitcher with an incredulous expression

“Me and Jisung?! Hell fucking no! He’s,” Changbin grimaced at the back of the seat in front of him. “He’s like a brother. An annoying brother who eats my food and borrows too much money to fund his awful coffee addiction.” Changbin shuddered and blinked uncomfortably at the thought.

“No. We’re definitely  _ not  _ a thing. I’m not anyone’s thing.” he cleared his throat, “I’m single.”

“O...kay.” Seungmin said slowly, shock still written in his features over Changbin’s mini outburst. And slowly, the shock faded until it was replaced with the tiniest of smiles. “Good.”

“What about you?” Changbin asked suddenly and smirked to himself for a second when Seungmin nearly choked. “Do you have any problem-child roommates?”

“Oh.” Seungmin let out a relieved sigh. “I have three pains in my ass if that is what you’re asking.”

Changbin’s eyes widened in surprise. “Three?!”

Seungmin looked forward and nodded.

“The four of us share an apartment that’s part of campus property, but we’re also doubled up in our hotel rooms. Thankfully they’re suites that come with pull-out couches.”

Changbin chuckled, “not a fan of sharing your bed?”

“Not with Hyunjin, no. He sleep talks, so he’s always kicked to the couch bed. Minho alternates between sleeping with all three of us, though.” Seungmin’s lips stretched into a soft smile. “He slept in my bed last night.”

“Ah.” Changbin said flatly and wondered if that was Seungmin’s way of subtly letting him in on this crush of his. He’d mentioned Minho before, his catcher… Maybe it was some sort of hint? An innuendo‒ 

Seungmin raised his eyebrow at him again and added, “his boyfriend lives abroad.”

“Oh?”

Seungmin nodded. He turned his body so that he was facing Changbin with his back against the window and rested the left side of his face against his seat.

“Jeongin. Innie…” Seungmin smiled softly. “He’s going to school in Europe on some exchange program. He’s going to be back for a bit just in time for us to fly back next week, though. He and Minho are adorable.” Seungmin stared down at his lap for a few seconds before he cast his eyes to the side. “I want a cute relationship like theirs.”

Changbin leaned his head against the seat and listened to the other boy talk with a small grin on his lips as he continued on. By the time they reached their stop, Changbin knew all about Seungmin’s three roommates, Jeongin and Minho’s relationship, and Hyunjin’s long-time unrequited crush on the fourth roommate.

“Hey,” Seungmin said quietly once they were off the bus and walked into the shared parking lot between either of their hotels. “Can I see your phone for a minute?”

“Uh,” Changbin blinked up at him in surprise for a couple of seconds before he registered what the other was asking. “Sure.” He quickly pulled the device from his pocket and unlocked it before he handed it off to Seungmin.

Seungmin instantly pulled up the dial screen and Changbin watched with the faint burn of a blush on his cheeks as Seungmin typed in a phone number. He then pulled out his own phone and smiled triumphantly when the screen lit up with an incoming call before he declined it and put his name into Changbin’s contacts.

“Text me when you get to your room so I’ll know that you got there safely.” he said as he handed the phone back to Changbin.

“Can I text you after that?” Changbin asked boldy, continuing before his nerves got the better of him, “and maybe call you sometime, too?”

“I uh,” Seungmin bit his lip and pulled it between his teeth, a pretty blush filling into his cheeks at Changbin’s questions. “I hoped that you might…” he admitted bashfully.

“Cool,” Changbin said as he began to back away slowly. “I don’t know if we’ll see each other this week… but good luck on your matches, anyway.”

Seungmin had started to back toward his own hotel but stopped to laugh. “You’re wishing a possible opponent  _ good luck?”  _

Changbin paused to laugh lightly and ran a hand through his hair. “Hah, I guess… It just seems like the polite thing to say?”

Seungmin nodded, “I‒ yeah. Well, I guess as long as you promise not to be so polite when we go head to head..”

Changbin rolled his eyes.

“Of course not,” he said as he started backing away again and smirked when Seungmin took a few steps back, himself. “I’m not here to hand out free wins just because you’re pretty.”

“You think I’m pretty?” Seungmin asked as the distance between them grew step by step.

“Goodnight, Seungmin.” Changbin called out softly since they were starting to get to be at a yelling distance. “I’ll text you.”

“You’d better.” Seungmin called back with a wide smile before waved and turned to walk the rest of the way to his hotel.

Changbin kept backing away until he saw the automatic doors of Seungmin’s hotel lobby slide close and turned to walk into his own.

‒

_ to seungmin⚾: got back safe ~changbin ^^ _

Changbin sent the text off as soon as his door fell shut behind him and the answer came as he began to kick off his shoes next to Jisung’s luggage.

_ seungmin⚾: good. are you going to sleep soon? _

_ to seungmin⚾: I probably should. we have practice tomorrow morning 😔 _

_ seungmin⚾: Ah, we do tooooo. Maybe we’ll see each other? ^^ _

_ to seungmin⚾: ...it is a possibility _

_ seungmin⚾: I’ll wave if I see you! we should sleep now 😴😴😴 _

Changbin smiled at his phone. The pitcher was cute enough on his own, but he’d become impossibly cuter just through the texts. Maybe it was the emojis, he wondered to himself and quickly sent back his answer.

_ to seungmin⚾: we should. and I’ll wave, too… kind of want to see how jisung reacts  _

_ seungmin⚾: omg please let me know what he says/does! lol  _

_ seungmin⚾: okay i’ll stop texting so we can sleep _

_ seungmin⚾: goodnight changbin~! _

_ to seungmin⚾: good night, seungmin ^^ _

**PRESENT DAY** **   
** **END OF SUPER REGIONALS**

Heavy beads of sweat dripped and rolled from Changbin’s  _ everything.  _ The summer months were only just starting, but it was already hot as balls in the middle of fuck-all Texas. And it wasn’t a dry heat, either. No, it was the sticky, humid wet heat that made Changbin feel as if he was breathing through a moist filter with each breath he took. 

“What the  _ fuck,  _ Texas?!” he cursed under his breath while he packed his gear into his bag.

His team had just finished with a mid-afternoon practice before they were scheduled to leave the god forsaken salty sweat-shake of a state. Next stop‒

“Double elimination rounds, here we come! We got this!” Jisung exclaimed before he slammed his nasty sweaty body into Changbin’s side.

“Get off of me you fucking  _ leech!”  _ Changbin nearly shrieked and began pulling his soaked t-shirt away from his skin. He shuddered at the disgustingly cold-wet feeling of it slapping back against him and frowned. “I need out of these fucking clothes as soon as fucking possible or else I’m going to  _ fucking  _ lose it.”

“Sounds like you’re already losing it, Binnie.” Chris teased and ruffled Changbin’s sweat-soaked hair with the hand that Felix wasn’t already attached to.

“Ew. It’s my sweat you just touched and I’m still grossed out. I’m going to hit the showers.” Changbin picked up his bags and slung them over his shoulder, muscles bulging under the short sleeves of his shirt.

He turned to Jisung and gave the other boy a concerned look when he saw him nearly drop his own bag on his toes.

“Jisung… be careful. I’m going to finish packing up our shit and take a nap. Wake me up when everyone wants to get dinner, will you?”

Jisung straightened up and gave Changbin a two-finger salute, “you got it, boss!”

‒ 

Changbin had  _ just  _ turned over to get comfortable underneath the duvet on his hotel bed when his phone began to ring.

He sighed.

_ Of course,  _ whoever was calling would wait until he was situated and ready to drift off to sleep. And when he was facing  _ away  _ from the nightstand his phone was sitting on, no less.

“Seriously…” he sighed out again, face squished against his wonderfully soft and refreshingly  _ cold  _ pillow. He had half a mind just to ignore it, but there was hardly anyone who wasn’t his mother that bothered to actually call his phone. And well, 1. Changbin never ignored his mother, and 2. If it was anyone other than his mother calling, it was either very important, or it was‒ 

_ ‘S e u n g m i n⚾🥰’  _

Changbin stared at the named spelled out on his caller-ID for a few seconds until he found himself scrambling to turn over and answer it before the call dropped.

“Hello?” he said almost breathlessly from the haste to answer it.

_ “Hey.” _

There was a certain lilt in the pitcher’s voice that told Changbin he was smiling to himself, which instantly brought a smile to Changbin’s lips, “Hey.” 

_ “Are you busy?”  _ Seungmin asked. Changbin could hear annoyed grumbling about someone being unfair and the sound of Mario Cart before it faded and he heard a door click shut.

“Hmm, not really. I was just going to get a nap in before dinner. What’s up?”

Changbin turned back over and snuggled down into his sheets with his phone situated between his right ear and his pillow. He couldn’t help but wish the other boy was lying beside him instead of sitting in another hotel in the middle of whole other state, but he was content with talking with Seungmin over the phone all the same.

_ “I miss you.” _

Changbin smile widened into a cheesy grin. “I miss you, too.” he whispered back.

_ “When does your plane get in tomorrow?”  _

Changbin pursed his lips and hummed as he tried to recall the time Chris had mentioned before he split up from them. “I think it’s scheduled to land around noon. Why?”

Seungmin was quiet for a moment and Changbin feared that the other boy had started to fall asleep on him before he suddenly spoke again.

_ “Our plane lands not too long before then… Do you think we could see each other for a few minutes or something?” _

Changbin bit his lip and took in a deep breath through his nose. “Seungmin…”

_ “I’ll cover up! I’ll wear my mask…”  _ the other boy said quickly before Changbin could give him the rejection they both knew was coming. There was just no way they could be seen together until the rest of the tournament was over with. Not with their new titles. Not with their growth in popularity after their match the year prior… And even though they both knew it, Changbin voiced it anyway.

“I just don’t think it’s a good idea. Especially with it being this close to finals.” he said slowly, fingers curling into his covers.

_ “Yeah. Yeah, you’re right… Never mind then.” _

What was left of Changbin’s smile slowly fell away from his lips at Seungmin’s heartbroken tone.

“We have two weeks, Min.” Changbin assured him softly. “We’ll make the time. I promise… I miss you like hell. There’s no way I’m  _ not  _ going to make the time to be with you, okay?”

_ “Okay.”  _ Seungmin answered in a small voice.

Changbin knew they could leave it there, but he meant it when he said that he missed Seungmin. And his nap be damned if it meant he could talk to the other boy for a couple of hours.

“How,” Changbin cleared his throat when his voice threatened to crack from exhaustion. “How’s your day been so far?”

**ONE YEAR AGO | PRE-CWS FINALS** **   
** **DOUBLE ELIMINATION ROUNDS**

“I hate him.” Changbin growled out, throwing his helmet -none too gently- on the bench and nearly took off Jisung’s pinky finger in the cross fire.

“No you don’t.” Chris hummed, face never turning away from the mound while Lucas took his time walking up to the plate. “You just hate that he struck you out and then watched you walk back here with a smile on his face.”

Jisung snorted and stood up to throw his sweaty arm around Changbin’s shoulders. “Yeah, it’d be a miracle if something finally got you to hate Seungmin. And as much as I’d like it to, I don’t see that happening anytime soon.”

Changbin’s sneer didn’t falter as he shook Jisung off of him and moved to stand to Chris’s left side. Lucas was up to bat, which meant that they would at least get Felix a run into home ‒ and if they were lucky, maybe a home run from their dark horse, himself.

“He sure didn’t make it easy on you.” Jisung piped up again while he undid the fasten on his batting glove.

The game was almost over; with UCLA in the lead by three runs, their chance of catching up to win ‒ or at least tie with them ‒ was slim. Felix had managed to sneak his way to third base, but with two outs and only one runner in play, their team was in need of miracle.

“He would never go easy on me. You  _ all  _ know that.” Changbin fought against a scoff at the thought.

“You’d think with you two being boyfriends and all‒”

“STRIKE!”

Jisung winced hard and Changbin saw Chris’s fingers clench around the railing in his peripherals.

“He’s  _ not  _ my boyfriend.” he groaned out without turning to look at Jisung. Instead, he followed the direction of Chris’s eyes and observed the nonverbal conversation Seungmin was having with his catcher ‒ Minho, Changbin recalled ‒ that would decide his next pitch for Lucas.

“Curve ball.” Chris murmured as Seungmin wound up the pitch and threw just that.

“Lix is pushing it.” Jisung said, suddenly serious as the umpire announced Lucas’ second strike.

Changbin’s eyes flit over to where the blonde boy was toeing down the line that connected third base and the home plate. He grit his teeth, “Chris…”

All three of them knew it was pretty hopeless either way. One more strike meant one more out. And one more out meant that the game would be over, and with it, their journey for this tournament would be finished. With two strikes on Lucas, Felix’s score would be meaningless unless the other pulled a home run or at least a single run out of his ass.

“I’m watching.” Chris said lowly, eyes darting back and forth from Lucas, to Seungmin, to Felix and back. “He won’t do anything stupid… Hopefully.” He added with a sigh.

Felix had the potential to lose them the whole game if he didn’t pay attention.

“FOUL BALL!”

Sighs were heard all around the dugout, and Changbin could swear he heard them up in the stands, as well as the entire stadium released their held breaths only to start holding them in once more. With one foul after two strikes, Lucas was allowed to bat once more.

“That’s more like it.” Jisung whispered when Lucas managed to sling the final pitch into the outfield.

Felix took the opportunity to get in his run ‒ which was more of a leisure jog, because Felix was always one for a show if he could afford it ‒ and secured his point as he gracefully stepped over the home plate, lips pulled into a teasing grin pointed directly at the opposing pitcher.

Lucas only managed to get himself to second base before the opposing team regained control of the ball, but it was  _ something,  _ Changbin thought as he looked to Chris with a newfound glimmer of hope in his eyes.

“Your boyfriend,” Felix grit out as squeezed himself into the space between Changbin and Chris. He paused to cheer on Jacob as he made his way to bat and then continued in the same aggravated tone, “is  _ so  _ annoying.”

“Not my boyfriend.” Changbin replied flatly, eyes already back on Minho’s hands. “And you’re only saying that because he nearly threw you out when you started dancing away from third like a fucking dumbass.”

Jisung snorted from somewhere behind them. “Well, at least Lucas landed a hit before Seungmin actually did it. Did you see his face when they called the foul, and then again when Felix scored? Fucking priceless!”

Felix turned to give the other boy a high five and turned to Changbin, “the only thing that would have made it better is if Changbin was the one to score.” he said, teasingly poking Changbin’s side.

A particularly loud stir from the crowd caused all of their attention to jerk to the commotion that was Lucas making a break for third base and safely getting there in one go.

But Changbin’s eyes never once left Seungmin.

_ He’s confident,  _ Changbin observed when the pitcher didn’t bother to glance toward the commotion Lucas made. Instead, he began communicating with Minho through his eyes and small twitches of his head until they came to an unspoken agreement once again.

Seungmin wound up the pitch with a deep breath and released it as the ball left the grip of his hand and soared through the air.

It was a confident pitch. Changbin could tell. He knew that Seungmin had fully intended for it to strike out Jacob and finish the game once and for all. So Changbin did not miss the surprised twitch of the pitcher’s eyebrows and the way his jaw tightened when ball met bat and Jacob took off running to first base.

“Come on, Jacob.” Changbin heard Felix whisper as the silhouette of Lucas breezed past them and safely made it across the home plate.

_ One more point!  _ Changbin thought as Jacob made it past second base and braved to try for third.  _ One more point and we’ll be tied. _

But the sound of the ball hitting one glove before it was quickly thrown to the next ‒ third baseman’s ‒ killed every hopeful thought in Changbin’s body.

“OUT!”

“FUCK!” Jisung cursed loudly.

Changbin forced himself to look away from the sad sight of the third baseman’s glove resting on Jacob’s shoulder and leveled his gaze with the pitcher who was already staring right back at him.

Seungmin’s expression was blank, which had Changbin wondering if the other boy had conflicting emotions over the win when the both of them had already made it more than clear that nothing stood between trying to win. Not even their blatant interest in each other.

Still, Changbin did his best to match the blank stare that seemed to drag on for several long minutes, but was only a few short seconds.

The spell broke when Seungmin finally tilted his head to the side and  _ smirked.  _

Changbin raised his eyebrows at him, only to roll his eyes altogether when Seungmin winked and turned to celebrate with the rest of his teammates.

_ “UCLA advances to the College World Series Finals!” _

“I saw that,” Chris whispered teasingly into Changbin’s ear before he stepped away to prepare to shake the other team’s hands.

‒ 

“Good game, catcher.” Seungmin said. His hand lingered a fraction of a second too long for the standard ‘good sportsmanship’ protocol and Changbin  _ hated  _ that he felt happy that the pitcher even gave him any sort of special recognition at all.

_ to seungmin⚾😊: you’d better fucking win. win the whole thing. asshole. _

_ seungmin⚾😊: I’ll do my best❤️ _

_ seungmin⚾😊: will you be watching? _

_ to seungmin⚾😊: well the rest of my week has just been cleared up… unfortunately for me. lucky for you ig. so… i might have time to watch. possibly. maybe. if you want _

_ seungmin⚾😊: what kind of bus are you on? _

_ to seungmin⚾😊: suncoast? ...i think it’s like #811 or smthn close to that _

_ seungmin⚾😊: come off for a sec _

Changbin glanced outside the window of the bus and nearly choked when he saw Seungmin’s figure approaching. He stood up abruptly and knocked Jisung’s travel pillow off of the other boy’s currently empty seat as he scrambled to climb into the aisle and practically run off the bus 

“Changbin, we’re leaving in ten.” Chris called softly.

Changbin halted at the top of the bus’s steps and turned to see his pitcher looking back at him with raised eyebrows. Next to him, Felix peered through tired eyes before he snuggled further into Chris’s side with a yawn.

“We can stall if you want more time with lover boy.” he said sleepily and giggled when Chris poked at his side.

“I won’t be too long.” Changbin said quietly and quickly ducked out of the bus.

“Hey.” Changbin called softly, Seungmin’s smile growing wide as he walked closer, and Changbin couldn’t help but reciprocate the fond look.

“Hey yourself, catcher.” Seungmin said, instantly taking Changbin’s hands with his own and pulling him close.

“I wasn’t too mean on the mound, was I?” Seungmin asked with a pout, unknowingly making Changbin’s heart melt at the sight.

“Hmm,” Changbin hummed and looked away for dramatic effect. “Mean? I don’t know if I would call it mean… But,” he looked back at Seungmin fondly. “would you like to know how many names Jisung and Felix called you altogether?”

Seungmin giggled and swung their hands between them in a lazy manner.

“This may come as a surprise to you, but I don’t care what my opponents call me as long as I’m the one winning in the end. Except,” he paused and dropped Changbin’s hands in favor of pulling the catcher closer by his waist. “Except when that opponent is you. Did you call me any names, Changbin?”

Changbin’s arms circled around Seungmin’s neck and Seungmin took the opportunity to practically hug Changbin to himself with a content sigh

“Well… I don’t have the nicest vocabulary even  _ off  _ the field… And you did kind of dig into my nerves a few times. I’m sure something might have slipped a time or two…”

“I suppose I deserved it, then.” Seugnmin said with a sly smile. “Let me make it up to you…”

“And how do you plan to do th-”

Warm lips pressed against Changbin’s cheek and stayed there for a few long seconds before Seungmin pulled away slowly and looked back at Changbin apprehensively.

“Oh.”

“I’m sorry. Was that too much? Too forward?” Seungmin let go of Changbin’s waist and Changbin’s arms fell away from the taller boy as he scrambled about. “I just- I thought- You didn’t pull away when I- And we just flirt so much-“

Changbin pressed forward on the balls of his feet and kissed Seungmin’s cheek. He had to bite back a laugh at the shocked expression on Seungmin’s face when he pulled away.

“Changbin!” Jisung called from the bus. “Get your ass on this fucking bus right this fucking second. I’m tired and it’s time to go, asshole!”

Changbin rolled his eyes, but began to back away from Seungmin anyway. He couldn’t keep his team waiting.

“I’ll call you?” Changbin said as if he was asking permission to still contact the pitcher now that a long overdue glacier’s worth of ice between them had been broken. 

“I’d really like that.” Seungmin answered quietly with a small smile on his lips.

“Bye, Seungmin.” Changbin called when he was further away, just before he was about to climb up the stairs onto the bus.

Seungmin waved and began to back away, “bye, Changbin.”

‒

Seungmin’s team went on to win the entire series that week and the entire season, and Changbin followed every game his schedule allowed. Seungmin’s overall performance, combined with his prior scores, landed him at the top of the national seeded spots. And having been undefeated until they were matched against UCLA, Changbin’s team fell right behind them in the second spot.

“You know what this means, right?” Jisung asked him when the list was announced.

Changbin nodded slowly.

“It means we’ll be going head to head at finals next year... if both of our teams make it that far.”

Jisung rolled his eyes, “It means I’m gonna get a second chance to beat your boyfriend’s ass!”

Changbin sighed heavily. Usually he would just shrug it off when his teammates pulled the ‘boyfriend’ card on him when it came to Seungmin. Even during their game against Seungmin’s team it was just something he’d come used to hearing and never let bother him because it wasn’t true. But now… his heavy sigh felt even heavier. It was weighed down with the sadness of wanting to be able to call Seungmin his boyfriend without it being just the butt end of his teammates jokes. He wanted to change the smiley next to Seungmin’s contact name into a heart.

He wanted to‒  _ God,  _ Changbin thought to himself and rolled his eyes. He wanted to change his fucking Facebook status to ‘ _ In a relationship.'  _ and he didn’t even  _ use  _ his Facebook account.

“Not my boyfriend.” he said, staring at his lock screen saver that happened to be a photo of himself and Seungmin that they’d taken a couple of hours before they went their separate ways after the tournament ended.

“Sure, Jan.” Jisung mumbled. “Wonder which one of you will get his head out of his ass first.”

Changbin groaned quietly and chunked his pillow at him.

“What?! Even if he’s the enemy, you obviously like each other a lot. I can respect that, but only if you’re actually together.” Jisung huffed, crossing his arms and giving Changbin a disappointed look.

Changbin opened his phone to the home screen and sighed once more as Seungmin’s jersey number and last name stared back at him.

“It’s complicated.” he said after a few moments.

It was complicated. For starters, he and Seungmin went to schools that were  _ multiple  _ states away from each other. And despite the fact that they talked to each other every day, they only really got to see each other in person once or twice a year.

Both of them were coming up on their last few semesters in college in which they were going to graduate and probably never touch a baseball again. They’d only been playing for the scholarships, but now that they wouldn’t have a reason to keep up with it, did that mean that they were going to lose the one thing keeping them together?

Changbin voiced all of his worries to his roommate and squinted at Jisung when the other boy began to look at him with a sincere expression.

“What?!” he shrieked at Changbin incredulously. “I’m going to be serious for a few minutes, okay?”

Changbin stared at him for a long moment before he shrugged. “Okay. Go for it.”

“You’re  _ both  _ slotted to graduate not this winter, but  _ next  _ winter, correct?”

“Mhmm.”

Jisung nodded. He had started to pace in front of their beds before he went into his ‘serious’ mode, but he was still now. He looked around the room and everywhere that  _ wasn’t  _ Changbin for a few quiet seconds before he took a breath.

Changbin raised his eyebrows at the other boy when nothing came out of his mouth other than a puff of hot air.

“Did you actually have a plan to go somewhere with this, or…?” Changbin trailed off and Jisung pouted at him before he climbed onto the edge of Changbin’s bed.

“I did… But I lost my train of thought.” Jisung admitted. He waved his hand a couple of times and shook his head, “doesn’t matter. I was never one for serious talks.” he shrugged.

“Well… thanks for trying.” 

“If it helps… I think you should go for it. For him. Seungmin. You guys should date. Even long distance.” Jisung spoke in quick, short sentences that told Changbin he was trying to get back on his serious track, but could only go at the pace his brain allowed. He leaned his head back on his pillows and listened as Jisung continued. “It probably won’t be easy. And like, I don’t ever want to walk in on you two doing hanky panky shit over the phone-”

“Jisung.” Changbin deadpanned, but the other boy continued to talk without missing a beat.

“But literally everyone who has  _ eyes  _ can see how much you two like each other. You’re like. Soulmates or some corny shit. Right out of some dumb YA novel. Or movie? Like an enemies to lovers cross… or something. You get my point.”

“Do I?” Changbin asked lazily with a small smile on his lips.

“Yes. You do. Date him. If anyone can make it work, I believe that you two can.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?!” Jisung jumped to his feet, nearly tripping over a pair of his shoes in the process. “You’re going to ask him out?”

“Yeah.”

“WHEN?!”

“A year from now.”

“CHANGBIN THAT’S NOT‒”

“I said what I said.” Changbin interrupted him. “If I still like him… and if he likes me back… I’ll ask him to date me after finals a year from now.”

“For fucks sake. I cannot with you right now. I mean,” Jisung sighed heavily, “it’s your love life. But goddamn.”

Jisung made a show of collecting his wallet and slipping into a pair of sandals and made his way to the door. He paused with his hand on the doorknob and glared daggers back at Changbin.

“This means I get to shit talk him all I want next season and you’re not allowed to get mad!”

Changbin pulled the blankets up to his chin and smiled sadly to himself as he settled into the bed. They had an early flight back in the morning and he hoped to get a good sleep in before they had to leave, but a certain text tone had him throwing all thoughts of sleep to the wind.

_ seungmin⚾😊: you awake? ^^ _

**PRESENT DAY | PRE-CWS FINALS** **   
** **DOUBLE ELIMINATION WEEK**

Seungmin had asked what his arrival gate was going to be, but Changbin had thought nothing of it when he mouthed off the location in his sleepy pre-nap haze before they hung up the phone. So, Changbin was extremely surprised to see a pair of familiar eyes watching him from under the bill of a generic baseball cap as he descended down an escalator just off his arrival gate and on his way to baggage claim 

Thankful that he’d been the caboose of his entourage, Changbin held back once he got to the bottom of the escalator to put a fair amount of space between him and his teammates before approaching the boy whose eyes never left him.

“Are you crazy?!” Changbin whispered, peering up into the pretty eyes that stared back at him from under the cap.

“Yeah. Crazy about you.” Seungmin answered back evenly. And even though the pitcher’s voice was slightly muffled by the sanitary mask, Changbin’s heart still managed to flip a few somersaults at the boy’s words.

“Shut up.” Changbin had to bite his lip to hold back the smile that threatened to spill across his face, but Seungmin wasn’t having it.

“I missed your smile.”

Yeah. That did it. Blinding smile, burning blush and all.

“You are terrible at answering my texts, catcher.” Seungmin whispered, reaching his hand out to brush Changbin’s hair away from his eyes.

Changbin fought against a wince at the harsh truth. Seungmin texted him a heck of a lot more than Changbin ever replied back, but that was how they worked. Seungmin gave him daily updates on his life that usually came in while Changbin was in classes, sleeping, or at practice, and Changbin would read them when he got the chance, but he was terrible at actually responding to them. He preferred talking to the pitcher over the phone and getting to hear the smiles in Seungmin’s voice when Changbin said some corny joke.

But nothing beat this. Nothing beat being able to see Seungmin’s eyes staring back down at him and being able to  _ feel  _ his presence so close to Changbin.

“You send them at the worst times, pitcher. Walk me to baggage claim?”

Seungmin inhaled deeply and looked around. Changbin didn’t have to ask to know that the other boy had ditched his teammates in favor of waiting for Changbin’s plane to land, but he hoped he wouldn’t get into any major trouble for deserting them for too long.

“It’ll be fine. My roommates will cover my ass. They think we’re living out some romantic cliche… like West Side Story or Romeo and Juliet.” Seungmin said bemusedly after Changbin voiced his worry over them getting caught. “Hyunjin especially. He said if we don’t go on a date before the finals are over he’s going to scream.”

Changbin’s smile faltered a little bit, but he moved closer to Seungmin so their shoulders were touching as they walked.

“How?” He asked weakly. “How are we supposed to find the time for that? I’d love to-“ Changbin paused to clear his throat, “as much as I want to follow through and go on a date with you… we’re national names now. You have to hide your face just walking around the airport with me.” 

Seungmin boldly wrapped his fingers around Changbin’s and kept walking with his head looking forward.

“You know, there was a time… two years ago, now. A time when our names were becoming something worth mentioning, but not yet national titles like they are today.” Seungmin stopped them near a column and crowded Changbin to keep the majority of his face hidden from the view of nosy on-lookers.

“A time when two almost-twenty year olds found themselves sitting next to each other in some dingy little bar in the middle of the night.”

Changbin smiled softly at the memory. It brought a comfortable warmth in the middle of June just thinking of that time.

“You want me to meet you again.” Changbin stated, having already figured out Seungmin’s plans before he could get to them. But Seungmin’s eye smile told him that the other was elated that he even remembered such a time -as if Changbin could forget. “Seungmin. We’re going to be so busy this week… I don’t know when we could even think about-“

_ “Attention: Seungmin Kim, your party is waiting for you by the exit of Terminal C. Seungmin Kim, your party is waiting for you by the exit of Terminal C.” _

“I guess Hyunjin could only hold them off for so long…” Seungmin’s eyebrows furrowed and Changbin imagined a cute little pout hiding under his sanitary mask. “I’ll text you. And I’ll call you, okay?” he said as he let go of Changbin and began to back away.

“Seungmin, wait.” Changbin said, tugging on the boy’s slim wrist and pulling him back into his personal space. “You better not forget to call.” He whispered before he reached up to kiss the space of cheek that wasn’t covered by the sanitary mask.

“Now…that’s not fighting fair,  _ Changbin.”  _ Seungmin hooked an arm around Changbin’s slim waist and pulled down his mask. “Kick ass this week, alright?”

“As long as you promise to go easy when I’m up to bat at Finals.” Changbin said through pouted lips.

Seungmin giggled, “As tempting as that is… Not a chance lover-boy.”

“It was worth a shot.” Changbin said, pout widening into a smile. “Okay, go. They’re going to send a search party for both of us if we don’t split up now.”

Seungmin sighed wistfully, “if only we could just go together… God, this is duuuumb."

“I’ll see you in a week. No matter what.” Changbin reassured him.

Seungmin gave the shorter boy’s shirt one last light squeeze and let go. “You better. Let’s do our best.”

‒

_ S e u n g m i n⚾🥰: already miss u. _

“Did you two have a good time wasting everyone else’s time?” Jisung accused over Changbin’s shoulder as the shorter read the text with a dopey grin on his face.

“We didn’t waste anyone’s time.” Changbin argued, rolling his eyes and going back to watching the rotating belt that had yet to bring his luggage. “My luggage isn’t even here yet…”

Jisung fixed him with an unimpressed stare. “I suppose the Seungmin Kim they called for over the PA system was a different Seungmin from the one that just happens to be on the team that is our  _ largest  _ adversary. Changbin, if someone saw you two and-“

“No one saw us.” Changbin mumbled. “He had most of his face covered, too. You worry too much, Ji.”

“Honestly.” Chris sighed from where he was leaning against one of the columns across from the rotating belt the four of them were waiting by. “Chill out, Jisung. It’s our final year. What are they going to do? Throw Seungmin and Changbin out for being a couple under their noses for the last two years now? When they’re both on the top two national seed spots?”

Chris scoffed, but smiled warmly when Felix leaned his weight into him.

“Chris is right. They’re not going to throw out star players this late in the game. Plus,” Felix added, lips in a thoughtful pout, “it’s not against the rules to be friendly with other teams’ members. And you’ve seen the way those two interact during games… It’s like they can’t stand each other on the field.”

“I can’t.” Changbin’s nose scrunched in disgust. “He’s a little bitch on the field. Honestly,  _ fuck  _ Seungmin when he’s on the mound. Can’t stand him. And we’re NOT a couple. We’re just… not… yet.”

Chris, Jisung and Felix all burst into laughter. 

“What? We’re not! And he’s unbearable! He’s so haughty and full of himself. Just the way he walks onto the field irks my nerves.”

“Wow. You have it  _ bad,  _ Changbin.” Felix sighed dreamily. “You two are so fucking cute.”

Changbin groaned, knowing anything he said after that would be further used against him.

“Oh look, my bag. Thank god.”

_ to S e u n g m i n⚾🥰: miss you too. _

**ONE WEEK LATER**

There was a dead day between the double elimination games and the final game that was to be UCLA vs LSU after they both crushed the competition before them. Both teams were granted free time to spend with the promise to attend the early morning practice scheduled before the final, and Changbin knew exactly how he was going to spend it. With Jisung covering his ass, permission from Chris, and cheers of encouragement from Felix, Changbin plugged the bar’s address into the navigation application on his phone and found the nearest bus stop and was on his way.

Seungmin sent him a text en route explaining that he would be a little later than their scheduled timing, but reassured Changbin at least four times in the same message that he  _ was  _ on the way! And that he would be there  _ soon!  _

Upon arriving to the familiar building, Changbin walked inside and took a seat at the bar. He wasn’t sure if the stool he slid onto was the same one he’d been in a couple of years prior, but it felt right. It was fine if it wasn’t the same one anyway, he reminded himself, they weren’t going to spend their entire lunch at the bar. Not this time. Changbin already had his eyes on one of the smaller booths in one of the further corners of the establishment. The lighting was dim, but he figured it was all about the atmosphere and nostalgia behind the location in general. He knew that Seungmin would feel the same as soon as he set foot in the door.

“So…” Changbin registered the familiar nasally voice a split second before the spinning seat of his stool was turned around and he faced the boy that caught his attention two years ago in the very same spot. “LSU, huh?”

A smile broke out on Changbin’s face at the line and he wasted no time sliding off the stool and circling his arms around Seungmin’s neck in an excited and comforting embrace.

“Missed me that much?” Seungmin asked, chuckling softly as he slid his arms around Changbin’s waist and hugged him close. “I missed you, too.” he said quietly when Changbin nodded into his shoulder.

“Let’s get some food.” Changbin said once they finally pulled away from each other. “I’m so freaking hungry.

They moved to sit at the booth Changbin had his eyes on and both ordered burgers with the chicken wings and cheese curds as appetizers to split between them. And Seungmin didn’t hesitate to ask for the side of caramel sauce to come with their fried cheese bites this time.

They used the couple of hours together as a time to catch up -and to flirt, yes, lots of flirting definitely ensued- until their plates were empty and bills were paid. But the waitress came back time and time again to refill their drinks until the boys figured she was tired of seeing their faces and taking up seating space. But before they could leave, Seungmin cleared his throat.

“How about we place a bet?” he suggested, moving closer to Changbin’s side now that he was seated next to Changbin instead of across from him. He’d made the switch between the first and second time their waitress had made her rounds  _ after  _ taking their payments and had been sitting there ever since.

“I’m listening, pitcher…” Changbin said and smirked around the straw of his ginger ale.

“If we win, you take me on a date. If your team wins, I’ll take you on a date.”

Changbin gave the other boy a long look before he began smiling again, “sounds like a win-win situation either way if you ask me…”

“Deal?” Seungmin asked with a smirk.

“Deal.” 

** CWS FINALS** **   
** **UCLA VS LSU : BOTTOM OF THE 9TH INNING**

“Changbin. You’re up.”

_ “What?”  _ Felix whispered the same time Chris began to argue their coach’s decision, “Coach, the scoreboard is tied, we have two outs and empty bases… Putting that pressure on Changbin is ridiculous.”

“While I agree with you, Chris, he’s next on the lineup. It’s out of my hands.” 

Changbin tore his gaze away from his defeated looking teammate who’d just struck out and was on his way back to the dugout. His coach had a determined look on his face that told Changbin he was their only hope; he could either strike out and cost them the win, or he could at least get himself on the base and leave the rest to their slugger who was right after Changbin in the lineup.

Or, Changbin dared to entertain the thought… he could send one flying into the stands and win the whole shebang. 

Either way, the pressure was on and it just kept piling on until he felt Chris’s hand curl around his shoulder.

“Go get ‘em, lover boy. Show your man what you’re made of.”

“Yeah, Binnie! Put those guns to use! Hit it out of the park!” Felix joined the cheers as Jisung rounded the corner and entered the shaded area that Changbin was about to leave from.

“Kick ass, Changbin. Wipe that snooty mother fucking smile off his face -or better yet, if your ball was to go flying back and hit him square in the‒”

“Changbin.  _ Now.”  _ their coach demanded impatiently.

Seungmin’s eyes were on him the moment he stepped from the dugout. He didn’t have to look to know, Changbin could  _ feel  _ it. Changbin knew the skilled pitcher had their batting order memorized. He did it every year, and every year, Changbin fell for it. He fell for the way the boy on the mound would stare him down as if he were the pitcher’s prey. But he only did it for Changbin.

_ “Two outs, empty bases, everything is looking pretty positive for UCLA. Kim’s gonna try and wrap this one up with one last strike out, here.” _

Changbin took slow, deep breaths in through his nose and out through his mouth. The walk from their dugout to the home plate was short, but time seemed to slow down when he finally looked up and made eye contact with Seungmin.

_ “Changbin, LSU’s catcher coming up to bat. Hasn’t made a run all season, and has never bat a home run in his entire three-year career.” _

Changbin’s eyebrow twitched at the announcer’s drilling but the small twitch of  _ Seungmin’s  _ lips drowned out the annoying overhead voice altogether. Seungmin… in all three seasons of Changbin’s collegiate baseball career, Seungmin had  _ never  _ smiled at him while going up to bat. Maybe after the games were over, or between innings, and sometimes during timeouts, but never when Changbin actually needed to focus. And Seungmin’s focus was all too important in these few tense moments as well. 

He would ask him about it later, Changbin decided as he came up to the plate and swung his bat a couple of times to warm up.

Seungmin had his game face back on by the time Changbin looked up again. 

_ “The tension is so thick right now. This could be the make or break right here, folks. It’s hit or miss-” _

Changbin forced the obnoxious sound of the announcer’s voice out of his head and zeroed in on Seungmin’s hands as he wound up the pitch much sooner than Changbin was expecting. Changbin’s own lips twitched in what would have been a smile if he’d even had  _ time  _ for one. But then there was a fastball hurtling toward him and with all the strength he could muster up, Changbin swung without a second thought. He swung the bat with as much force as he could with such a sneak attack being sprung on him.

But Seungmin’s form had given him away. Changbin didn’t have to see the conversation he knew Seungmin  _ didn’t  _ have with Minho before the pitch, since the other boy’s body language alone told Changbin everything he needed to know within a handful of milliseconds.

Changbin tossed his bat to the side and took off in a sprint to first base without even caring which direction his ball went, but the announcer came to his rescue with his annoying voice halfway down the line.

_ “Seo with a hit to left field, and it’s way back there, way bac‒”  _ Changbin’s foot barely grazed the base before he continued to sprint toward the next base. The announcer’s voice was getting lost in the increase of cheers from the fans in the stands and then-

“ _ HOME RUN! TIGERS WIN, LSU TIGERS TAKE THE WIN WITH AN UNBELIEVABLE BALL INTO THE STANDS! WHAT AN INCREDIBLE HIT FOR SEO, I DON’T BELIEVE IT!” _

Changbin rounded the third base with a wide grin on his face, and saw his teammates jumping up and down in excitement ‒ Felix’s screams could be heard well above the rest, of course. Changbin slowed his run in the last stretch before he came up to the home plate, heart beating wildly as he stole a glance to the pitcher’s mound where Seungmin stood eyes staring wide open at Changbin. 

Changbin’s foot touched down and he was immediately swept off of his feet by his team and nearly lost himself in their ecstatic cheers, but he stole one last glance in Seungmin’s direction and welcomed the back flips his heart did at the sight of the other boy grinning back at him.

‒ 

“Looks like you’re taking me out on a date.” Changbin teased Seungmin as soon as the other boy stepped into his hotel room.

Changbin ended up telling Jisung about the bet between Seungmin and himself before the game and Jisung in turn reminded him of what he promised him a year ago. There wasn’t much else to their conversation aside from Jisung agreeing to steer clear of their room once Changbin officially kicked him out for the night as long as Changbin promised he’d have access to his clothes by 10AM the following morning.

Changbin texted Seungmin his room number along with a few heart emojis and willed himself to calm down when the pitcher responded with an almost instantaneous, ‘on my way.’ 

Now, Changbin was pulling Seungmin in enough to let the door swing shut behind them and paused in the entryway just to look at him.

“A bet is a bet.” Seungmin nodded with a sigh. “But I hear you have something else to say to me? Something to ask?”

Changbin sputtered, “Wh- What? How?”

Seungmin ran his hands along Changbin’s shoulders before settling them on either of his arms and moved closer. “Seems like our roommates are all pains in our asses together…”

“I’m gonna kill Jisung.” Changbin grumbled.

“I definitely don’t doubt that you could.” Seungmin mused while he rubbed his thumbs over Changbin’s biceps. “My, my, catcher… What big arms you have.”

Changbin closed his eyes for a moment and groaned. “I know you did  _ not  _ just quote Little Red Riding Hood when I’m about to kiss you.”

“Oh? You were going to kiss me?” Seungmin tilted his head to the side and made the curious expression that absolutely  _ killed  _ Changbin on the inside from how adorable it was.

“That was the plan.” He cleared his throat and his head. “But I think the mood is ruined now.” He teased, but moved closer to Seungmin, still.

“Kiss me, Changbin.” Seungmin demanded in a whisper.

“Okay.” Changbin said simply and tugged the taller boy impossibly closer until their noses brushed together and he could feel Seungmin’s breath begin to mix with his own.

“Good game, pitcher.”

“This game isn’t over yet, catcher. It’s just getting started.” Seungmin hushed with a smile on his lips before they were pressed against Changbin’s, warm and inviting.

Seungmin’s fingers dug into Changbin’s arms as they kissed until Changbin decided to pull him closer and kiss him deeper. Seungmin complied instantly and gasped softly when Changbin began to nip ever so slightly at his bottom lip before he went back to kissing Seungmin almost desperately.

When they pulled back, both of their chests were heaving and the only noise in the room were the sound of their panting. The noise alone drove Changbin crazy; he was already addicted to kissing Seungmin and he’d only done it once.

“Will you be my boyfriend?” Changbin asked breathlessly. His heart dropped into the pit of his stomach at the gravity of his words, but he figured what the hell. It was a long overdue question, and he was feeling fairly confident.

“Finally?” Seungmin asked, just as breathless, his kiss-swollen lips curling into a pretty smile.

Changbin nodded. “Finally,” he answered in a whisper.

“Yeah.” Seungmin said, giving them the answer both of them already knew. “Yeah, I’ll be your boyfriend, Changbin.”

“Good.” Changbin pecked Seungmin on the lips a couple more times before he pulled back to look at his boyfriend.

“Do, uh… Do boyfriends get special rights or privileges that they didn’t have before?” Seungmin asked, raising his eyebrows at the boy who had yet to stop staring back at him.

Changbin’s eyes shifted at the question, from something so fond they changed to something Seungmin could only describe as desire. The same alluring eyes moved from his own to slowly glance down at his lips before they darted back up to meet Seungmin’s gaze once more.

“Perhaps.” Changbin hushed. He took hold of Seungmin’s hands in each of his own and took a couple steps back toward his bed, eyes never looking away from Seungmin’s. He stopped after a few more steps and bit his lip, “if he wants…”

“He wants.” Seungmin said quickly,  _ too  _ quickly, and blushed when Changbin smirked up at him, but his gaze remained soft.

“Then yeah, he gets all the rights.” Changbin nodded, pulling them back to his bed until his legs hit the side of it. “Kiss me, Seungmin.”

“Gladly.” Seungmin gasped quietly and connected their lips in a kiss that was a little bit messier and a  _ lot  _ more heated than their first.

‒

The next morning found Changbin cuddled into Seungmin’s bare chest with Seungmin’s arm secured around his waist. And because he could now, Changbin pressed a warm kiss to Seungmin’s skin and repeated the action until the other boy began to stir in his sleep.

“Morning, sleepy head.” he whispered softly when Seungmin cracked his eyes open.

“No,” Seungmin groaned out. “Noooo,” he said again with a pout that Changbin felt the urge to kiss off of his lips, but refrained.

“Morning means leaving you. I don’t want to leave yet.” Seungmin admitted in a small voice.

Changbin chuckled softly and sighed. “This is what you wanted, remember?”

Seungmin fixed him with an incredulous look that only made him laugh harder.

“The night we first met,” Changbin recalled, smiling softly as he traced little hearts over Seungmin’s chest. “You said you wanted something like Jeongin and Minho had. Even now, Innie is still abroad a lot for his internship. But they’re working it out, right?”

Seungmin stared at him for a few seconds before he nodded slowly.

“We’re going to figure it out.” Changbin whispered. “You mean so much to me, Seungmin.”

Seungmin turned over enough to close both of his arms around Changbin and pressed a kiss to his forehead.

“Okay. We’ll figure it out.” he whispered back. 

* * *

**EXTRA:**

_ S e u n g m i n❤️: it’s so weird… you don’t have to call me ‘pitcher’ anymore. and i don’t have to call you ‘catcher’ _

_ to S e u n g m i n❤️: it is a little weird huh… _

_ to S e u n g m i n❤️: I guess we can just start calling each other ‘boyfriend’ instead ^^ _

_ S e u n g m i n❤️: 🥰😘 got that right, boyfriend~😘😘😘😘 _

**Author's Note:**

> [moodboard](https://twitter.com/lovelyjjix/status/1209633330641027072?s=20)
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed it ~ comments and kudos are always appreciated! HAPPY HOLIDAYS✨🎄💖
> 
> twt: @lovelyjjix  
cc: curiouscat.me/lovelyjjix
> 
> Fun fact: UCLA and LSU both only made it up to the Super Regionals Best of 3 rounds this past year (2019). BUT the LSU win -down to the scores and incredible miracle of a home run- in this particular story is a recreation of the 1996 LSU win against Miami that won them the entire NCAA College World Series that year!
> 
> Sidenote: championships are supposed to be best of 3 at the end as well, but in this story we pretend it’s just one final game between the last teams standing~! ^^


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